I posted a month or two ago about how I decided to start a herb garden for a homemade fertility tea. The ingredients are as follows:

• German Chamomile
  
• Nettle Leaf
• Red Raspberry Leaf
  
• Peppermint Leaf
• Red Clover Leaf (actually already have this growing everywhere!)
• Green Tea
• Chaste Berry

For more information and detail about the fertility tea please see this guest post where Earon shares her journey and experience with herbs!

I ordered my plants and seeds and jumped right in as soon as they arrived! I ordered a number of duplicate seed packs and plants for fear that they wouldn't make the trip from Oregon to Ohio, and my extreme lack of prior knowledge with herbs. I was pretty convinced that if they showed up alive after 3 days with no water in a box with no sunlight, me transplanting them would likely kill them. Imagine my delight when I opened the box and they were in great shape. They were packaged superbly and looked like I had just picked them up from a green house up the road. I unwrapped them and marveled at the fact that 3 days ago, they lived on the other side of the country!
I transplanted all of the plants, Chaste Berry (Vitex) and Chinese Tea, into my containers that I had already filled with garden and potting soil. I used miracle grow thinking that I was going to be nursing close to dead plants back to health. In hindsight, I may have opted for organic potting soil.

A day or two later, I filled my Jiffy Strips with the same miracle grow potting soil and planted my Stinging Nettle , and Peppermint seeds. I was so excited that my Stinging Nettle (left) popped up about a week or so later! My peppermint didn't ever sprout. I was thankful that I had bought a second packet of seeds and tried again. Just a day or two ago, I noticed for the first time that we had little sprouts (right)!

The German Chamomile seeds were planted in a new flower bed in front of what will be Gavin's play area (once the grass is ready to go and we build the play equipment). I checked daily for any sign of life and I am ready to throw in the towel on the Chamomile. I had bought two packs but used both to cover the whole area. I will need to order more soon. I think our mistake was that we packed the dirt down (lightly) after distributing the seeds over the loose earth. The more I have read, the more I think our best bet is to gently brush the dirt around to lightly cover the seeds. Next time.
The clover is growing around us everywhere. I read that the best time to harvest the blossoms is when they are a deep purple, first thing in the morning before the sun burns off the dew. I went out last weekend to harvest the clover and was disappointed in how faded the blossoms looked. I picked some anyway just to experiment but plan to try again after this extreme heat subdues. Perhaps that is contributing to the less than vibrant blooms.
The Red Raspberry canes will be coming from my wonderful father in law who has offered to let us transplant some of his at our house. I love the fact that we will soon have plants that existed and fed my husband as a child. How wonderful is that? I look forward to bringing them to our house in the the fall. Granted, I won't be able to use the leaves of the plant until next year but, it is worth the wait!






















For a first timer, I must say that I am pretty proud of myself! I am learning so much and even if I don't have a drop of tea to drink, I am enjoying learning about all of the medicinal qualities of these herbs and others. I will continue to post updates and herb info as I learn more and more! Thanks for joining me on this neat little garden activity! As always, I love feedback as well as tips, support, and advice!